The key hisses as it cools, but it is eventually cool enough to touch. It is heavy in your hand as you pull it out.

Light continues to stream in from the holds the stalk has caused, though the rest of the cave seems still.

Moving around the dead plants with his foot, he pretty much lost all hope that whatever it was that was shiny…was gone.

Until that is, something hard hit his foot. Or was it his foot hit something hard? Nah, something hard definitely hit HIS foot. He was not at all clumsy. Unless you count those few times that he was. Raising his eyebrows in surprise, Noel bent down slowly as to not damage his leg any further, and shifted the dead plants and leaves away to see what it was. Probably a rock no doubt.

But, no. It wasn’t.

Lifting up a key, a rather HEAVY key at that, he stared at it in his hand for a moment, taking in the design. It was old and rusted, and rather simply then other key’s he’d seen in his life, but mostly old and rusted. Just like the padlock on the door.

Realization hitting him, he wobbled back into the standing position and slowly made his way to the door. Holding the mirror/plate under his arm and his wand in his hand, he shakily held the padlock and placed the key inside…

..and slowly turned it.

As her feet hit the Lilypad, Brielle was rather annoyed to see that it like the one early was just going to sink and get her wet.

Being inspired by the spells she had just performed, Brielle had an idea.

Looping her arms over the tree branch, Brielle pointed her wand at the rather large lilypad and in a clear voice uttered, "Wingardium Leviosa!" as she swished and flicked. The lily pad began to slowly rise from the water, exposing it's root "Fixate!" she smiled, and in the same breathe muttered, "Diffindo" as she slashed her wand at the root.

Her had heard of flying carpets, but Flying lilypads, this was a whole new kettle of fish.

Pulling herself back up with her arms, Breille gingerly began to lower herself onto her escape route.

"Bonne Chance!" she whispered to herself.

The key turns in the lock as the light continues to stream in, the one tendril of the stalk still shines, and the cave grows still once more.

Behind the door is a steep, empty corridor, well lit from light streaming in from an opening at the end.

If you take a deep breath, you'll smell something you haven't since you entered the cave. Fresh air.

You're out. You're done. You're alive.

Just a little walking left.


Your flying lilypad taxi supports you nicely. If you can propel it to shore, you'll arrive quite easily.

Once you do, though, and your feet touch down on the sand, an onslaught of bouncing bulbs begins. They do not target you directly, but as they careen off the cavern walls and the grass, they cannot help but pummel you in the process. There is nowhere to run, as the shore bumps up against walls of rock on all sides. If you can look around long enough - not likely until the bulbs are taken care of - one wall only goes so high. But, it is too high to jump and too sheer to climb. An errant bulb knocks a bag from a shelf in the wall, spilling a bean that burrows its way into the sand.

From that bean, green tendrils being to sprout, working their way toward the surface and breaking through.

"OH NO YOU DON"T!" Jermaine shouted as the bowtruckles try to get the wand back out of his hands. He was not letting go no matter how much they attacked. That wand was his.

Shaking the stick bugs off his hands he starts pointing his wand at them...

"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!"

He shouts over and over as he jumps/falls from the tree.

Oh Merlin hopefully he lands in the water.

Monique tossed the key up and caught it in her hand. Oh yeah. Key, check.

Now, what was that other shiny thing? The bean stalk looked too far away to climb... hmm... could she just summon it? She wasn't quite sure what the object was, but it was clearly right there. So perhaps the object being so close would make summoning the object easier.

She stared directly at the shiny thing before giving it a try. "Accio Shiny Object!" she said aiming her wand up toward the tendril. Hopefully that would work.

Light.

That's all that mattered to him at the moment was the light. So much light behind the door!

Having opened it, he squinted his eyes to adjust to the new brightness before stepping into the corridor. The light was coming from the other end, causing his heart to explode with anticipation. Light, meant light from outdoors!

OUTDOORS!

Breathing deeply, he noticed that the air was unlike the kind in the cave. It wasn't heavy or had a weird musky smell to it, but it was clean. Easy to breathe. Fresh! Oh, fresh air..

And light. This was the only time, he wasn't scared of walking to the light.

Landing on the Lily pad, Brielle’s smile was enough to make her forget about the tournament for just a moment, Flying Lily pad, How cool is that!?

After coming back to reality, the French girl, pointed her way at the pad and said “Locomotor Lily Pad!” and directing it with her wand, the Queen of Green…ery, shot across the lake, laughing to herself all the way. Pulling up at the shore, Brielle stepped off her green carriage and muttered a quick, “Merci” before turning her attention to the next stage.

However she wished he had never stepped off the pad at all. As her foot touched the ground, the light from the bluebell flames illuminated the fact that it was alive with hundreds of bouncing plant bulbs, bulbs that were obvious blind as they began smacking her around like a rag doll.
“How rude!” she declared, as she was whacked from every angle.

She needed to stop the bulbs and quick, “Immobulus!” she declare rather annoyed that she was using the same spells over and over, due to the fact she was being judge, but she comforted herself with the fact that a basic spell was like a trusted friend, always there for her.

The dark water envelopes you as you jump in, but the bowtruckles do not follow. It churns around you.

Wand now in hand, you might want to see to some light. Once you do, a quick look around will tell you that you are in the middle of the lake, with the far shore in front of you. That is your destination. That is where you must go.

The lilypads below seem to bob in and out of the water as it churns and the trees spread further apart. Skittering among the leaves suggests that the bowtruckles in neighboring treesare anxious to be appeased, as well.

The shiny bit from the stalk wobbles as you summon it, before breaking free.

What flies toward you is a shimmering silver circular mirror the size of a dinner plate. The frame is ornate, with the roman numeral III engraved in the top center.

It flies through the air like a wobbly frisbee.

The door closes behind the champion as he exits.

The bulbs freeze and stop their assault, granting you a reprieve from their beating.

Along the cave wall, the stalk continues to grow, widening, with tendrils shooting out the side like ladder rungs.

The next obstacle was made for Brielle, after all she had perfected the Possum crawl!

Moving quickly the French girl launched herself at the living ladder and began to climb, pulling herself upwards, the scratches on her hands re-asserting their presence. But the girl had no time to feel pain, she just had to keep going.

Further up and further in.

Monique quickly put the key in her pocket before catching the shiny frisbe. A mirror? They hid a mirror down here? She looked over the mirror. It was very pretty. And there was a number III engraved on top. Interesting.

Eww... but she was not so pretty. Best not look at that again...

Now, with her mirror in hand she headed striaght toward the door she spotted earlier. There was a rusty padlock. She reached into her pocket and put in the rusty key. She then tried turning the key.

If beanstalks were elevators, this would be your floor. Climb the stalk any higher and there would be no ground to set your feet on. Tread carefully, however, as the path quickly narrows and there are no walls. Instead, perilous drop-offs await on both sides should one slip.

Soon, you come to another fork. From where you stand, the only different you can notice is that one path looks wider, at least as far as you can see, that is. Nothing else betrays what may lie ahead. Which way? Left and narrow or right and wide?

The key turns in the lock as the light continues to stream in, and the cave grows still once more.

Behind the door is a steep, empty corridor, well lit from light streaming in from an opening at the end.

If you take a deep breath, you'll smell something you haven't since you entered the cave. Fresh air.

You're out. You're done. You're alive.

Just a little walking left.

Jermaine was a bit relieved when he landed in the water and not in another tree... or worse on the hard ground. Not to mention the bowtruckles didn't follow him. That in itself was a HUGE relief.

"LUMOS!"

Unable to see anything due to the darkness Jermaine lit his wand. It is then that he realizes he is in the MIDDLE of the lake. Spotting the lilypads floating around he decides to not mess with them. The last time he tried using them he ended up just falling in the water. Since he was already in the water there was no reason to try to stay dry.

The only way he can get to that shore now is to swim for it. Arms and hands aching and bloody he starts to swim making sure NOT to let go of his wand. He was not about to lose it now.

The water churns, knocking you into lilypads and tree roots as you swim. It batters you as it swells over your head. If you have strength enough, though, to keep your head above water and not drown, you will reach the shore.

When you do, and set down on the sand, an onslaught of bouncing bulbs begins. They do not target you directly, but as they careen off the cavern walls and the grass, they cannot help but pummel you in the process. There is nowhere to run, as the shore bumps up against walls of rock on all sides. If you can look around long enough - not likely until the bulbs are taken care of - one wall only goes so high. But, it is too high to jump and too sheer to climb. An errant bulb knocks a bag from a shelf in the wall, spilling a bean that burrows its way into the sand.

From that bean, green tendrils being to sprout, working their way toward the surface and breaking through.

Climbing up the stalk been a welcome relief, as the stalk wasn't trying to kill her or scratch out her eyes. But it did however continue to grow, up into the darkness, and Brielle knew that at some point she would have to get off.

As she came to a ledge that the stalk past, the girl just knew this is where she would depart the stalk, however what she found was not the most comforting sight.

The ledge was a road into further darkness, but it was also wall-less. A lone gangway with nothing to hold on to, and nothing to stop her falling to her death.

However this was something Brielle could get through easily. What was the way ahead, but a stone catwalk, and what was Brielle but an aspiring model with a great walk.


With the grace of a jungle cat, Brielle began to walk, her steps light, trying not to dislodge any rocks, and her strides wide to cover the distance.

Another Fork?

This was something Brielle was not pleased to see. Again the girl was faced with another choice, small or wide. She could not help but think that the wide one was too easy, that it would only lead to more pain. But then again, the narrow one was sure to only get narrower.

Wide it was.

The path was wider, for sure, but as you travel further down it, the incline grows steeper and the path slick with water. Watch your footing. It's a long way down.

As you proceed forward, your path is suddenly blocked by a large, spiky plant that spans the width of the walkway. At first you think it might just be a harmless pile of vines, until the vines start moving, trying to grab you with their long, green tendrils. To your horror, the plant also seems to have numerous fangs—you might want to avoid those. Don’t forget to look out for spikes, getting hit by one of those must be VERY unpleasant! The only way to advance is to get past this extremely venomous plant, so tread carefully!

Happy with her choice, Brielle flittered her way along the path, moving quickly but ensuring she had sure footing, there was nothing like falling of a cliff to end the day in a bad way.

Moving onwards, the girl began to notice that the floor was becoming rather damp, and also beginning to steepen. "Not Good." The French girl muttered, as she turned her feet sidewards and began edge her way further along.


Brielle could have screamed at what see saw next, another vine, creeping and crawling at her, she had three Fire Seeds left, but she didn't need them, she had her wand.

"Incendio!" the Seventh Year declared, shooting fire from her wand time, she hadn't the patience for another weed,

The plant burst into flames, its tendrils flailing all over the place as it reached out towards the champion with it's long vines, which were of course aflame due to the spell. EEEEP! There was no telling if the plant was succumb to the fire eventually, but at the moment, it was just an angry and wanted to grab the champion with it's fiery vines.

Oh.......baguette.....

Brielle was not expecting what happened as a result of her flames, usually one would expect to see the plant burn to a crisp, but the gnashing vine in front of her whirled wildly, fighting for it's life.

As it whipped at her legs with his flaming tendrils, Brielle immediately had a chance of heart, she had tried fire now she would try ice.

"Aguamenti!" She uttered, the fire from her wand turning to water, that she used to hose down the plant.

Once it was was soaking wet Brielle with a quick flick of her wrist, shot another spell at the plant.
"Glacius!"

The plant flailed around angrily...it was NOT liking all these harsh conditions it was being put through. The ice DID keep it stable for a small amount of time, but eventually the strength of the plant managed to break the ice and it was flailing around once more.

The vines continued to dance around the champion. Perhaps there's a more effective way to get rid of this venomous monster?

What. The. Hell.

Brielle's patience had been zero to start with, she had had enough of all these attaching plants, why could they not have been a section where all she had to do was smell some flowers.

However that was not much of a challenge.


Standing well out of the way of it's groping vines, Brielle calmed herself, and tried to attack the issue of the plant in a logical manner. Thinking back to her lesson's on Herbology back in France, as well as the recent book's she had read for DodsonThe Challenges, Brielle could help but think that the plant looked familiar.

In a stab in the dark Brielle cried, "Diffindo" Slashing her wand at the heart of the plant.

She could only hope it was the Venomous Tentacula, and that not only would her spell cut it's arms, but also stun it.

The single Diffindo spell chopped one of the vines right off the plant. In anger the plant spit out more venom in the champion's direction, but it's clear that the Severing Charm did indeed slow the plant down a bit. It's vines still continued to move around, however, feebly reaching out towards the girl in an attempt to grab her with it's tendrils.

With a reflex action, as fast as a cheetah, Brielle ducked as the plant shot venom in her direction.

"Well I never!" She spat, as prepared herself for another attack. Feeling the slightest touch to her ankle, Brielle's shot downwards just in time to see a single vine begin to wind it's way onto her person.

No you don't, the girl through before releasing a barrage of spells, "Diffindo!" she cried, severing the one at her ankle, "Diffindo!" again, as she brought down her wand, "Diffindo!" as she slashed it right, "Diffindo!" as she stabbed left.

With a screeching war-cry, Brielle performed the Severing Charm again, in it's non-verbal form, slashing her wand like she was fighting with a sword. She would not stop till the plant was out of her way.

The Severing Charms were enough to take down the plant, and after a few more feeble twitches, it was completely lifeless.

Nestled near the roots of the now immobile plant, something is shining in the wreckage of the plant. What is that?

As the plant gave a feel shudder than fell lifeless, Brielle dropped her arm downed to the side, her wand still clutched in her hand. Her chest heaved, up and down, the breaths coming in fast succession, with her hand she ran her fingers through her hair; Success the plant was dead.

Lifting her leg, Brielle went to step over the lifeless plant, but something stopped her in her tracks.

In the centre of the clump of lifeless vines something glittered, shiny in the dark recesses of the caves. Bending down, Brielle used the her wand tip to move away the severed, scorched and icy tendrils.

Qu'est-ce que c'est?